KU climbs six spots, but does not advance

NCAA Championship
Karsten Creek Golf Course | Stillwater, Okla.
Par-72 | 7,460 yards
Daniel Sutton reacts after his 60-foot birdie putt.
After 3 Rounds

Place Team Score
1 Duke 854 (-10)
2 Oklahoma State 857 (-7)
3 Texas Tech 861 (-3)
4 Vanderbilt 866 (+2)
5 Oklahoma 868 (+4)
6 Auburn 870 (+6)
7 Texas A&M 871 (+7)
8 Kent State 872 (+8)
9 Alabama 874 (+10)
10 Texas 875 (+11)
11 Arkansas 876 (+12)
12 Clemson 878 (+14)
13 Arizona State 880 (+16)
14 Illinois 881 (+17)
15 North Carolina 882 (+18)
T16 Northwestern 884 (+20)
T16 Stanford 884 (+20)
18 Florida 886 (+22)
T19 Iowa State 891 (+27)
T19 UNLV 891 (+27)
T21 Kentucky 892 (+28)
T21 UCLA 892 (+28)
23 KANSAS 894 (+30)
T24 NC State 897 (+33)
T24 UCF 897 (+33)
T24 BYU 897 (+33)
27 Oregon 899 (+35)
28 North Florida 902 (+38)
29 Augusta 904 (+40)
30 Baylor 910 (+46)
Individual Leaderboard (Top 5)
Place Name Team Score
1 Bryson Nimmer CLEM 207 (-9)
2 Brandon Mancheno AUB 209 (-7)
T3 Doug Ghim TEX 210 (-6)
T3 Ivan Rameriz TTU 210 (-6)
T3 Broc Everett AUG 210 (-6)
Kansas Leaderboard
Place Name Score
T39 Daniel Sutton 219 (+3)
T50 Daniel Hudson 221 (+5)
T107 Harry Hillier 228 (+12)
T117 Andy Spencer 229 (+13)
T146 Charlie Hillier 239 (+23)

STILLWATER, Okla. – The NCAA Championship run for the 2017-18 Kansas men’s golf team came to an end Sunday at Karsten Creek Golf Club, as the Jayhawks moved up six places to finish in 23rd overall but fell outside of the qualifying standards of ranking within the top-15 teams.   
 
“I thought we got off to a good start and hung in there,” head coach Jamie Bermel said. “I thought those middle holes – seven or eight through 12 – were pretty tough. But we battled back.”
 
The overall top finisher for the Jayhawks was senior Daniel Sutton, who just missed the opportunity to advance as an individual. Sutton was tied with three other players for the eighth and ninth spots, but lost out due to the tiebreaker. He ended his three rounds tied for 39th overall with a 3-over 219.
 
Sitting at 1-under for the round, Sutton got into trouble with those middle holes Bermel referenced. He triple bogeyed No. 6, bogeyed No. 8 and double bogeyed No. 10. At 5-over, Sutton traded a birdie on No. 12 with a bogey on No. 13.  On No. 14, Sutton got his break when he sank a 60-foot putt for an eagle on the par-5.
 
“It was about 60 feet out,” Sutton said. “I putted down off the green, up and over and it went in dead weight. It was a pretty good putt. I had some really good speed putts over 60 feet today and it was about time one went in. It was a good moment. It was fun.”
 
Because of Sutton’s consistency off the tee, Bermel expected big things from his senior.
 
“This course fits Dan,” Bermel said.  “He had a couple of errant drives, but he is in the fairway a lot and he putted well today.”
 
Freshman Harry Hillier cracked the Kansas lineup at the start of the spring.  In his nine events, Hillier has saved his best round for last in eight of them with the NCAA Championship included. Hillier posted the top KU round of the day with a 1-under 71. He scattered seven birdies over his scorecard to fight off a pair of bogeys and two double bogeys.
 
“Harry has made a lot of progress (this season),” Bermel said. “I think a lot of it is Coach (Chris) Wilson. After the first double, they had a heart to heart on the seventh tee and Chris got him straightened out. He obviously played great on the back.”
 
Hiller was 2-under on the back nine after birdies on No. 13, No. 14 and No. 16. He finished the event tied for 107th.  
 
Joining Sutton in the top-50 was fellow senior Daniel Hudson, who finished 1-over in his final round. Hudson finished the event at 5-over and was the model of consistency through 53 holes after a triple bogey on his first hole of the event.
 
“We will miss the leadership (from our seniors), especially from Dan Hudson, who has been around for four years, he knows how things operate,” Bermel said. “Dan Sutton was a transfer, stepped right in and played really well for us. For us to be good, our seniors have to play well and I thought they were pretty good this week. We just couldn’t back it up.”
 
KU’s season stroke average leader Andy Spencer finished 13-over and tied for 117th. The sophomore was never himself throughout the event and Sunday was his highest scoring round of the season with a 7-over 79. Charlie Hillier, the team’s second-most consistent player, was in the same boat at Karsten Creek. Charlie Hillier finished tied for 146th at 23-over.
 
The 2018 NCAA Pacific Regional Champions became the first Kansas team to qualify for the NCAA Championship since 2000 and this was the program’s third-straight season to earn an NCAA at-large bid.
 
“I think the progress (made as a program) is good. We have made the progress, but hopefully they are not satisfied,” Bermel said.
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